The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus such as an ink jet recording apparatus which can execute so-called marginless printing by disposing ink away from the end of a target medium. Other than recording apparatuses such as printers, copiers, facsimile machines, the liquid ejecting apparatus includes an apparatus for ejecting liquid, in place of ink, from a liquid ejecting head onto an object on which the ejected liquid is landed.
Examples of the liquid ejecting head include a colorant ejecting head to be used for manufacturing a color filter such as a liquid crystal display, an electrode material (conductive paste) ejecting head to be used in the formation of an electrode such as an organic EL display or a surface emitting display (FED), a biological organic matter ejecting head to be used for manufacturing a biochip and a sample ejecting head to be a precision pipette in addition to the recording head.
An ink jet recording apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a “printer”) has an ink jet recording head (hereinafter referred to as a “recording head”) for discharging an ink, and a platen provided opposite to the recording head and supporting a sheet from below to define a distance between the recording head and a printing surface. Furthermore, some printers can execute so-called marginless printing to print a sheet without a margin (for example, see Japanese Patent Publication No. 2002-86821A).
In the printer capable of executing the marginless printing, a groove hole is formed on the upper surface of the platen (a platen surface). The groove hole includes a groove hole formed to be extended in a primary scanning direction over the platen surface and a groove hole provided to be localized in a portion positioned on the end of a sheet. For example, when the leading end of the sheet is positioned above the groove hole formed to be extended in the primary scanning direction, ink is also ejected to a region provided out of the leading end so that the marginless printing is carried out at the leading end. In other words, the ink is disposed into the groove hole.
In general, an ink absorber (hereinafter referred to as a “first waste liquid absorber”) for absorbing ink is provided in the groove hole. If such a first waste liquid absorber is not provided, there is a possibility that the ink disposed into the groove hole might become an ink mist to deteriorate printing quality or might stick to the driving components of a printer to disturb a normal printing operation.
A plurality of through holes are provided in the bottom portion of the groove hole. The ink disposed into the groove hole is once absorbed into the first waste liquid absorber and is then dropped downward from the through hole. Accordingly, a waste liquid tray for receiving the ink thus dropped is provided under the platen. An ink absorber (hereinafter referred to as a “second waste liquid absorber”) for absorbing ink is provided in the waste liquid tray in the same manner as the groove hole. Consequently, the ink stored in the waste liquid tray is reliably held so as not to leak to the outside.
The ink disposed into the groove hole is absorbed by the first waste liquid absorber. The ink thus absorbed is not entirely dropped into the waste liquid tray. More specifically, a part of the ink is dropped from the through hole toward the waste liquid tray and the other part is maintained in the lower part of the first waste liquid absorber according to the ink holding property of the first waste liquid absorber.
If the printer is greatly inclined in the handling or transportation of a user in such a state, for example, the ink held in the lower part of the first waste liquid absorber concentrates on the end of a platen and might overflow out of the groove hole in the worst case. When such a phenomenon arises, there is a possibility that the components of the printer (for example, a driving system or an electric system) might be adversely influenced, and furthermore, the ink might leak out of the printer.
In the method described above, furthermore, the ink is not dropped until the amount of the absorption of the ink in the first waste liquid absorber approaches a saturation. Accordingly, there is a possibility that the ink might be maintained in a large amount in the first waste liquid absorber for a long period of time. As a result, in the case in which an ink jet recording apparatus is used with an inclination due to transportation between users, the ink stored in the first waste liquid absorber flows out of the apparatus in some cases. In the case in which an ink which is easily solidified, for example, a pigment based ink is used, particularly, there is a possibility that the ink might be held in the first waste liquid absorber for a long period of time and the ink solidified on the surface of the first waste liquid absorber might be thus deposited to deteriorate the absorbing capability of the first waste liquid absorber.
As another configuration of the ink jet recording apparatus, therefore, a first waste liquid absorber and a second waste liquid absorber are formed integrally (for example, see Japanese Patent Publication No. 2001-301201A; page 7 and FIG. 7). Consequently, an ink absorbed in the first waste liquid absorber is only moved exactly in the direction of a gravity in the first waste liquid absorber and is then held by the second waste liquid absorber so that the movement of the ink from the first waste liquid absorber to the second waste liquid absorber can be carried out quickly. Thus, the ink can be prevented from overflowing from the first waste liquid absorber or being solidified.
However, a component having such a configuration that the first waste liquid absorber and the second waste liquid absorber are integrated has a novel configuration which has not been conventionally obtained. For this reason, there is an anxiety that the design of an ink jet recording apparatus might be changed considerably when the such a component is employed. There is an anxiety that a cost might be increased due to the change in a design and a production efficiency might be reduced.